Game



Dec. 8,1925 1.564.458

R. R. WHITING GAME Filed May 4, 1925 WWM ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 8, I925.

UNITED stares ROBER'I R. WHITIITG, OF DARIEN, CONNECTICUT.

GAME.

Application filed May 4, 1925. Serial No. 27,653.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, ROBERT R. VVI-IITING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Darien, county of Fairfield, in the State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Games, of which the following is a clear, full, and exact de scription.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in games, and it aims to pr0- vide a game which may be played by two or more players, the number of players participating not being limited.

The invcntion has for one of its objects to provide a game in which the elements of chance may, when combined with good judgement on the part of a player, result in advantage to such player.

The invention has for a further object, the provision of a game which will approximate in many respects the conditions which pre vail both on a yacht race course, and during a race between yachts.

It is a further object of the inventionto provide a new and improved game which will have educational features such, for example, as teaching the players the rules of the road as they pertain to the sailing of ships; certain navigation markings, such, for example, as buoys, lights, etc, and the reading of the compass.

Vith the above and other objects in vlew, reference is had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of the applicatlon and which is a plan view of a game board used in the present embodiment of the invention and showing an arbitrary body of water with yacht race courses laid out thereon.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the reference character A designates a game board which is made of any suitable relatively stiff material such, for example, as card board. If desired the board A may comprise a plurality of sections hingedly connected together in order that the same may fold into relatively compact form.

In carrying out the invention, one surface is provided, preferably by printingwith a picturization of abody of water designated by the reference character B, with suitableshore lines 0. The shore lines C may have a plurality of projections designated point 1, point 2, etc.

Following generally the contour of certain portions of the shore line, there are lines D spaced slightly therefrom, and these'lines D are used to designate shoal water in that space between them and the shore line. The picturization also includes islands 'E and designated island 1, island 2', and island 3, and following generally the contour of the island designated-island 1, there is' a line F used to designate shoal water off the shore line of said island. Projecting fromthe island designated island 2 there is a line G employed to designate a sand bar or other form of shoal water. i

In addition to the foregoing, the picturization will include buoys of all conventional types, li ht houses, and any other conventional marking devices commonly employed in marking waterways. i i

There is also a substantially circular line K in the present picturization which line is employed to designate a body of Shoal Water, which, however, does not follow any particular shore line as in the heretofore described instances.

2 It is to be understood that the picturization above described is only arbitrary, and that any arbitrary body of water may be employed or, for that matter, a known charted body of water may be employed, without departing from the spirit ofthe invention, and that the invention Will therefore not'be limited to the specific picturization employed in the present embodiment thereof.

Extending across the picturization" at spaced intervals there are a plurality of series of stations designated by the reference character H. -Associated with each of these stations there is a designating character in the form of a value number J, the purpose of which will be hereinafter"described.

It will also be noted that there are certain numbers whichare not associated with any station snch, for example, as those designated by the reference character M. It will also be noted that certain of the buoys and other markings have numbers associated with them, such as those designated by the reference character N.

In addition to shoal water areas, the picturization in the present form of the invenlon includes rocks submerged as designated by the reference character 0, and rocks awash as designated by the reference character P.

Located preferably at the left of the picbase at which is provided (preferably by which' 'he identification characters ol 1 to 360.

' etits" respective base aand cooperates with it desir'ed, be-ot the various. types such as proceed.

-' r a A determined 8% follflwfi, will be, noted around shoal water turization there is a starting point Q and a that the numbers associated with the finishing =p'oint R,'= from "which ithe; game startmg stake-are 19, 13, 15. vIf 1n sp1nstarts, and atwhich'it finishes respectively. ning his chance device the player regis- Adjacent the starting point there"is--a'ters-a number having therein one of the 5 starting stake S and associated 'th'erewith digits-of either-of: these three numbers, he there is a group of numbers U, and it will he would be entitled to move his piece; it the noted that these numbers are interposed with number registered did not include any respect to the starting point and the first of the digits of either of these numbers transversely extending' series of stations the player 'couldnot move his piece and the -heretoforereferred to. turn is lost to him. An example of the Whillin "the present embodiment of the foregoing will now be given. Assumethat "invention," four chance devices L are shown,

the number registered by the player in his 1t IS ObN'lOLlSilTZl-ll one-or any other number turnflwere 219. L'I'heplayerwould thenbe smay be iemployech'itnot, being -necessaryuto entitled to move his piece to anyone oft'he the successful operation ofthe invention to; three numbers 13, 15, or lQ-due to the pres 'ence otthe number lin all four otthe mun bers, i. e., the reading 219'and *the numbers l3, l5, and 19.

lVhen the. player chooses the nui'nber to employ one of these chance devices for each 1 playeu as "they could all usethe same one if "ith'ey so desired.

Each of these chancedevices comprises a printing) with calibrations setting iorth'SGO degrees of a circle after the mannei of a compass, and said calibrations will, in the preferredi form or the invention, include sponds to the'flinv ried out in order that aiinal score'may'be reached. T'akinp; the aboveas ansexample, it will be noted that the!) inQlt-l corre- 19 of the'figures U. it

Mounted above the base a of each chance the 9 in each is cancelled. This leaves 1 device there :is a pointer I) having one of its uncancelled. The: player now takesthis l endslongerthan'the. other. The longer end .tohis credit to aid in determiningthe final 'ofthis pointer Z) moves over-the calibrations score which. will vbe discussed morev in detail. hereinafter. -said calibrations for a purpose to be herein-' number were 202 for example,'there would 'aiter desciibed. be no"d'igit to cancel a digit of any ofthe Thegame is played in'the following man numbers U and the playerwould therefore ner. "Before starting thergame one of the be unable to n'iove .in-thatpart'cular turn players spins a chance controlled'device in of play.

' oi'ler to deterininethe direction from which the wind is supposed to blow during the scribed manner, thepieces-being -moved -playing of the game. This is-done tor the "from numberto number with the digits un- ITGilS-Olitllflt-th) rules ofthe road are to becancelled being-placed to thecr'edit of the The. game is continued. in the above'de- '(=)bse1'v'ecl b:,fth l i oving"their player,'it' being understood,- however, that j pi fd ring the playing operations. the player moves his piece-but-onestation, The game piecesfdesignated by the retor to a st-ation in the next series-in advance erence character T, are, preferably in"the or the series in whichastationisoccuform btmini'aturei boa-ts or ships and may, pied by him.

Assumingg, now that a players piece-occu sloops, schooners', barks, etc. pied thestation 53 in :the channel between The direction of the wind having been the shoal 1 and the shoal 2, and-in spin deternjnned as abovedescribed, each player ning, the ichanceldevice would register the "selects'his piece and the game is ready to number 17. This would entitle him to move W Inorden to determine-which of: either to'the station "the-several;players starts first, the chance channel between point 3' and shoal 2, or the :(lBVlCe is again spun, this time by, each of number 7 in the shoal water marked by the ther players,'th e player registeringthe low-i line-K. Assume. now that the playerchoose est number being the first to, play, and so' the number 7 inthe shoal'waterf In so do- .ontln'oughout the number or players parmg he also acceptsithe chance of a penalty; ""tlcrp'atmg; the player, registering ltheu-larg-s as follows. it now in his neXt-two-spins of est number beingt-heylast. to take his turn. the'chance device, he is unable to register a After the rotation of .play, otthe several. number having adigit which corresponds to p participants has been' determined, 'the first a digit of one ofthe numbers in the next seplayer now spins a. chance device in, the ries, or in other words he is unable to move -fefi'ortto get awayflfrom the starting point, his piece, he is to be considered hard and in yacht. racing'parlance, .roundflthe aground, and must dropout ofthe race. 'startingstake. It is to be understood that'the true course The movement of a-pieceby the player is of the race is" from the starting stake S ".K,"is1 nd 1 tween. t

will move, the "following is CZLF" "then the player: selects 19 to which to move" If, however,'the registered 7 at the entrance of the and the mainland, between island 2 and the mainland, and around island 3 passing between it and the mainland, and thence to the finish.

By taking the shorter course a player can finish in fewer moves than by following the true course, but in so doing he accepts chances which may cause him to lose the race or even to withdraw therefrom.

In addition to the penalty above mentioned, other penalties are imposed. For example, assuming that a player choose to move his piece to No. 14: adjacent the shoal water K which number 14 is connected to buoy N, he would be considered as having fowled the buoy and would be penalized therefor as follows. In addition to taking the uncancelled digits of the number on the picturization, he must also take to his score the uncalcelled digits of the number registered upon the chance device. The foregoing penalty also applies to a player who moves his piece to a number in shoal water even though he is able to move away therefrom by a spinning of the chance device, or if in moving from a position in clear water to another position in clear water, his course intercepts any of the danger zones, as determined by a straight line drawn from the occupied position to the new position taken.

As each of the players finishes the race, the uncancelled digits are added and the sum total thereof is divided by in order to reduce the number to hours and minutes in order to determine in an arbitrary manner the time consumed in each player covering the course with his piece.

For the purpose of encouraging the several players to take the chances attendant moving through the danger zone, a bonus of ten per centum of the total of the uncancelled digits is deducted from the total of such numbers for the player who is first to reach the finish, and thus reduce his score.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the present invention provides a game in which the several players may move their pieces over a predetermined course without penalty, or over any of a plurality of optional courses and accepting chances of penalties, the optional courses being the shortest way over the area covered.

\Vhat is claimed as new is:

1. In a game, a game board having a predetermined complete course of travel, a rela tively shorter complete optional course of travel, and hazards associated only with said relatively shorter complete optional course of travel.

2. In a game, a game board having a predetermined complete course of travel, and a plurality of relatively shorter complete optional courses of travel, hazards associated only with said relatively shorter complete optional courses of travel, a plurality of game pieces for movement over either of said courses of travel at the option of a person playing the game, and a chance device for determining the movement of said game pieces over their respective courses.

3. A game comprising a board, a plurality of areas representing deep water, a plurality of areas representing shoal waters, a plurality of stations associated with each of said areas, a value designation associated with each of said stations, a predetermined course laid through the deep water areas, and marked by said value designations, optional courses laid through the shoal water areas, value designations associated with said optional courses, means for chance selections of numbers corresponding to certain of said value designations in both the deep and shoal water areas, and game pieces movable at the players option in accordance With the chance selections over the predetermined deep water course or an optional shoal water course.

4. In a game, a game board, a deep water area represented on said board, a plurality of shoal water areas represented on said board and arranged adjacent the deep water area representation, a plurality of stations in both the deep water area and the shoal water areas, said stations providing a predetermined course through the deep water area and optional courses through the shoal water areas, a value designation character in the form of units 0-9 associated with each of said stations, there being a greater variety of said characters associated with the sta tions in the deep water areas as compared with those in the shoal water areas, a plurality of pieces movable over said areas from station to station, and chance controlled means for determining the movement of said pieces in any of said areas at the option of the player.

Signed at Hempstead this 18th day of April, 1925.

ROBERT E. \VHITING. 

